Hateg Island Azhdarchid

Family

Environment

Description

In 2015 paleontologists Mátyás Vremir and colleagues announced the discovery of a single neck vertebra from a pterosaur discovered in uppermost Cretaceous rocks in Romania. Although the remains are incomplete, the researchers determined that it is the fourth neck vertebra from an azhdarchid. Although the researchers consider it a new species, they chose not to name it due to its fragmentary nature.
The single vertebra is only 9 cm (3.5 inches) long, but is thought to belong to an adult. The proportions of the vertebra show that is was heavily muscled and may have been relatively short necked, at 40-45 cm (16-18 inches). The whole animal would have a wingspan between 3 to 4 meters (10-13 feet).
At the end of the Cretaceous, much of Europe was underwater with several large islands. One of the most well studied is known as Haţeg Island, a large subtropical about the same size as modern Ireland. Haţeg Island has a well known dinosaur fauna, consisting of several different dwarf species. Azhdarchids are usually regarded as being predators of small terrestrial prey. Interestingly, Haţeg Island has no known large theropods, so the role of top predator was filled by azhdarchid pterosaurs.
In addition to this unnamed species, Haţeg Island was home to the similarly sized but lightly built Eurazhdarcho, and the giant stout-necked Hatzegopteryx; both azhdarchids. Although they are so far only known from Romania, it's possible that all three species (and perhaps others) were present on other European islands.
Azhdarchids all have long toothless skulls and long necks, but relatively short wings. The largest known pterosaurs like Hatzegopteryx and Quetzalcoatlus are all azhdarchids, but not all azhdarchids were giants. Azhdarchids are members of he short-tailed pterosaur lineage known as the pterodactyloids. Within pterodactyloids, they are most closely related to other toothless families like the tapejarids, thalassodromids, and chaoyangopterids.